Yair and Heathen clash in Hotel following Eye Poke

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Hong Kong Phooey

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Feb 12, 2015
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Jeremy Stephens had no ill will towards Yair Rodriguez after their fight ended in a no-contest following an inadvertent eye poke this past Saturday night. But his opinion is quickly changing.

The main event from Mexico City ended just 15 seconds into the fight after Rodriguez extended his hand towards Stephens during an exchange and accidentally raked his fingers across the eyes.

Stephens couldn’t open his eyes after the poke occurred, which eventually led to referee Herb Dean calling a stop to the contest. According to Stephens, it wasn’t until he made it to the hospital later that night when he was finally able to open his eye for the first time. Luckily, there was no permanent damage done.
 

Hong Kong Phooey

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"Everything’s all right,” Stephens said when speaking to MMA Fighting on Monday. “I’m going to the doctor later today to get this cleared and get (an) on-the-American-soil opinion and everything’s all good. It’s a little sore. I have a laceration, a small cut over both my eyes, but all in all nothing major, which is good.

“It’s one of them little freaky things. I’ve had my eye orbital broken in the Donald Cerrone fight, and that dude is a killer. Way more fierce than the karate kid (Yair Rodriguez), and it’s just one of those weird things, I can’t explain it. I’ve been in 50 fights, amateur and pro, and it’s one of those weird things. It just sucks.”

Two days later, Stephens says he isn’t experiencing any after effects from the eye poke, but he put off an anniversary celebration with his wife to return home so he could have doctors check him out.

“Nothing blurred [now],” Stephens said. “A little pain, it’s a little light sensitive, but other than that, my vision’s all right.”

On Sunday, as he was preparing to make his trip back home from Mexico, Stephens ran into Rodriguez in the host hotel. He thought he was going to receive an apology from his opponent and hoped they could move toward booking the rematch.

What happened next surprised Stephens, but it didn’t take him long to react.

“At first he came up with a thumbs up, I thought he was going to come over and be cordial and say, “I’m sorry, and let’s run it back,’” Stephens explained. “But he comes up, shakes my hand and then immediately starts talking s—t. Where I come from, you don’t do that, bro. I shoved him back across the hotel and I saw that his sister was recording with her phone, thinking they’re going to catch some little glimpse, or him talking s—t to me.

“He got shoved and once he got shoved, he didn’t even take a step forward. His family didn’t do s—t either. I was about to smack him and his coaches and anybody who came at me, but they all immediately backed up.”

As much as he already felt like there was unfinished business with Rodriguez, considering the anticlimactic way their fight ended, Stephens was that much more motivated after the physical altercation the next day.

“Let’s run it back,” Stephens said. “That’s what I was telling him. Bring it. I’m in shape, you’re in shape, we both spent money, we both lost money on this, now it’s a check raise. Now, more eyes are on the show. Come over and we do this on American soil, and let’s see how they treat you over here. Bring it on.”

While Stephens would relish the opportunity to face Rodriguez on one of the remaining cards in 2019 — preferably the upcoming show in Boston, UFC 244 in New York, or the UFC on ESPN card in Washington D.C. — he’s not so sure the rematch will happen.

“I guarantee you the kid doesn’t want it,” Stephens said about Rodriguez. “My bet money is that he doesn’t accept the fight, he bitches out and runs. That’s what he does. You saw how he acted after the win. He’s celebrating like he won over an eye poke. Who does that? The kid was nervous all week. I was up in his head, I’m still in his head, and he can either accept the fight or get the f—k out of my way.

“These are facts. I’ve never been cut from the UFC for not taking fights. I took a fight [against Zabit Magomedsharipov] when he wouldn’t take it. Who’s the bitch and who’s speaking real facts here? I pushed the kid and he didn’t do s—t.”

If Rodriguez doesn’t accept, Stephens isn’t going to sit around and wait for him, because he wants to fight again before the end of the year – no matter the opponent.

“People duck and dodge me all the time,” Stephens said. “Brian Ortega has ducked me four or five times. These guys don’t want to fight me. They have to fight me.

“It’s either Yair, or I have nothing attached to that and we move on. Either we fight or you shut the f—k up, and I continue to move forward.”
 

maurice

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Oct 21, 2015
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Losing a lot of respect for Yair over this. Such a bitchy response instead of accepting responsibility.

You raked him across the eye. Say sorry and STFU until the rematch.
 

jimmy boogaloo

General Links/Your Account
Nov 15, 2017
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Losing a lot of respect for Yair over this. Such a bitchy response instead of accepting responsibility.

You raked him across the eye. Say sorry and STFU until the rematch.
100% - Yair is being quite the prick given that he raked him. that's fucking stupid. he caused the problem. he ruined the night. anything illegally goes in a fighter's eye, you can't expect them to gut it out. not himpressed
 
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Twelve Twenty Four

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2016
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100% - Yair is being quite the prick given that he raked him. that's fucking stupid. he caused the problem. he ruined the night. anything illegally goes in a fighter's eye, you can expect them to gut it out. not himpressed
this. how in the hell does this guy think he can talk to anybody like that after it was his fucking foul that ended the fight - I think that was the only strike landed so I really don't get how he's saying Stephens bitched out - has this guy been tested for CTE? I really don't get where he's getting this attitude from
 

BenAskrensStrikingcoach

Formerly formulating formally
Jan 30, 2015
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Stephens is right, I like Yairs style but he seems like a bit of an odd fucker, bad response to this NC.

He was getting his ass handed to him by TKZ before that up elbow too.
 

KWingJitsu

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Nov 15, 2015
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Went exactly how Stephens described it


View: https://youtu.be/sfJ_RGlhz4c
All except the "he started talking shit" part:

Stephens: "Let's run it back"
Yair: "Are you okay?"
Stephens: "Yeah"
Yair: "You sure? So what happin??"
Stephens: ... Thug Shove!​

I mean... I'm not sure whether Jeremy was frustrated at being unable to form a complete sentence, but..... seems to me he took it the wrong way.
 
M

member 3289

Guest
All except the "he started talking shit" part:

Stephens: "Let's run it back"
Yair: "Are you okay?"
Stephens: "Yeah"
Yair: "You sure? So what happin??"
Stephens: ... Thug Shove!​

I mean... I'm not sure whether Jeremy was frustrated at being unable to form a complete sentence, but..... seems to me he took it the wrong way.
I can't stand Jeremy Stephens but Yair was being a prick. The "so what happened" line from Yair was what started the shit talk
 

BenAskrensStrikingcoach

Formerly formulating formally
Jan 30, 2015
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All except the "he started talking shit" part:

Stephens: "Let's run it back"
Yair: "Are you okay?"
Stephens: "Yeah"
Yair: "You sure? So what happin??"
Stephens: ... Thug Shove!​

I mean... I'm not sure whether Jeremy was frustrated at being unable to form a complete sentence, but..... seems to me he took it the wrong way.
You sure? So what happen? = If you wanted to fight, why did you quit after the eye poke.
 

Jdog93

.....?
Jun 2, 2016
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Not a fan of Yair anymore.

Gets smashed by Frankie.

RUNS from the Great Zabit aka Sex Chicken @Sex Chicken

Now trying to pass responsibility on Stephen's for the the eye poke.

That FAKE drama post fight interview also was shit.

Like that he cusses out Bitchping tho.

But all that combined this guy is weak.

Hope they run it back and Stephen's peels his muffin cap back blue!!!
 

Sex Chicken

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Sep 8, 2015
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Not a fan of Yair anymore.

Gets smashed by Frankie.

RUNS from the Great Zabit aka Sex Chicken @Sex Chicken

Now trying to pass responsibility on Stephen's for the the eye poke.

That FAKE drama post fight interview also was shit.

Like that he cusses out Bitchping tho.

But all that combined this guy is weak.

Hope they run it back and Stephen's peels his muffin cap back blue!!!
I agree. He lost me as a fan too. You can expect some ignorant fans to question an injury but to me another fighter is inexcusable. It makes absolutely no sense. Does he really think Stephens went through a gruelling and expensive training camp, only to fake an injury 5 seconds into a fight. On top of it all, it was YOUR foul that caused the injury. YOU fucked up the fight. He should have just apologized and then bent over backward to make the rematch happen as soon as possible.
 

Jdog93

.....?
Jun 2, 2016
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I agree. He lost me as a fan too. You can expect some ignorant fans to question an injury but to me another fighter is inexcusable. It makes absolutely no sense. Does he really think Stephens went through a gruelling and expensive training camp, only to fake an injury 5 seconds into a fight. On top of it all, it was YOUR foul that caused the injury. YOU fucked up the fight. He should have just apologized and then bent over backward to make the rematch happen as soon as possible.
 

Twelve Twenty Four

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2016
364
401
Not a fan of Yair anymore.

Gets smashed by Frankie.

RUNS from the Great Zabit aka Sex Chicken @Sex Chicken

Now trying to pass responsibility on Stephen's for the the eye poke.

That FAKE drama post fight interview also was shit.

Like that he cusses out Bitchping tho.

But all that combined this guy is weak.

Hope they run it back and Stephen's peels his muffin cap back blue!!!
if they run it back, stephens will murder him inside 30 seconds
 

Atto

Chinese Virus
Feb 11, 2016
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All except the "he started talking shit" part:

Stephens: "Let's run it back"
Yair: "Are you okay?"
Stephens: "Yeah"
Yair: "You sure? So what happin??"
Stephens: ... Thug Shove!​

I mean... I'm not sure whether Jeremy was frustrated at being unable to form a complete sentence, but..... seems to me he took it the wrong way.
Yair's english is weak , but he just asked what happen and then he gets pushed back.
Jeremy is the ass not Yair.
Stephens is right, I like Yairs style but he seems like a bit of an odd fucker, bad response to this NC.

He was getting his ass handed to him by TKZ before that up elbow too.
Just reading what Germ said , but not opening your ears and eyes to look at the video?
How is asking "what happen" is wrong in any way?
 

Filthy

Iowa Wrestling Champion
Jun 28, 2016
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Yair's english is weak , but he just asked what happen and then he gets pushed back.
Jeremy is the ass not Yair.

Just reading what Germ said , but not opening your ears and eyes to look at the video?
How is asking "what happen" is wrong in any way?
I think it was a smart-ass "what happened"...like if you're OK today why couldn't you fight last night? I think the body language and facial expression is what set Jeremy off, he didn't seem aggravated or on-edge when he walked up to Yair. He probably thought they were going to shake hands and both say "bummer, let's get this rematch in a couple weeks". Instead Yair gave Jeremy the 'why you pussy out' line and a smirk (guessing).
 

Rambo John J

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First 100
Jan 17, 2015
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not a fan of either fighter out of the ring now...and in the ring for that matter